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Buenos Aires Is Hot
Claudia Serrano
FOTOS: Hernan Reyes
The most popular magazines cannot deny it: The Queen of the Plata has turned into one of the most attractive destinations worldwide. Our streets are lined with thousands of foreigners that come here for a few days and end up staying several months.
It surprises us to hear a potpourri of languages on the streets, but Buenos Aires has turned into the Babylonia of the 21st century where customs and languages from different countries of the world have converged. Why do foreigners choose this metropolis? What attracts them to the city? The devaluation of the peso, the culture, the beautiful women, tango, the meat, Maradona, Che Guevara, Evita? What is the charm that sells Buenos Aires? Are we at the beginning of a new wave of immigration similar to that which occurred at the beginning of the past century?
 Buenos Aires is hot, that is clear. The whole world is talking about Buenos Aires. Enough with reading the latest Vogue issue that dedicates an extensive article to Argentina and its people. Slowly we get used to seeing and hearing hundreds of foreign tourists on the streets, restaurants, and bars. It looks like the world has been seduced by our city and has decided to stay for some time in the Queen of the Plata.
An example is Anne who is a pretty, 24-year-old German. Originally from Frankfurt, she settled in Buenos Aires in March of 2004 and confesses that she is in love with this city. She came to Buenos Aires by chance. People told her that Chile was the "Switzerland of Latin America" which would be a country too boring for a German (who is already accustomed to the perfect function of the universe). Her intention was to learn Spanish and also take a much-needed vacation from her job in a well-known international bank. Some of her parents' friends offered her a comfortable apartment in Recoleta. One ticket to BA, please! "This city reminds me of those underdeveloped countries in Europe about 40 years ago. The architecture, the disorganization, the people who park their cars wherever they want the chaos", says Anne as she adds that the variety of culture, the high quality of living and the people are just some factors that are inviting to many foreigners who want to experience Buenos Aires. Her friend Eloise, a 30-year-old petite blonde from England, came to Buenos Aires in March 2005 looking for a life change. Fed up with London and working at a bank, she found Buenos Aires to be a fresh cosmopolitan city where you can pursue a different career and have a better style of life. "Peacefulness and sophistication plus the devaluation of the peso make for a winning formula for foreigners", she comments.
 And how did the Portenos receive them? The young women were not as friendly as the men with these attractive blondes. According to them, the Portena girls are too insecure and that is why they pay so much attention to their bodies "forgetting about the rest" says Anne. Eloise adds that "they don't know what it feels like to be a foreigner. If they did know, they would act differently, not like someone who is scared of you taking the last available/unattached men between 35 and 40 years old."
Malcom, also English, agrees with this point and that is why she made friends with a woman who is in her 50's whom she had lived with for more than six months in her Palermo home. Happy and settled, she enjoys the city and looks to launch a website with useful information about Argentina for expats like herself.
"The Portenos are always willing to help an attractive tourist find a street or museum. Even more if the girl is blonde!" exclaims Malcom. "Here in BA the guy looks at you and tells you things. You cannot go unnoticed. They make you feel attractive even if you are coming back from the gym, sweaty, dirty and with your hair all disheveled."
All three girls agree that your typical Portenos are not that attractive. "They are gentlemen to a certain degree", says Anne. "They invite you to dinner, they pay for the bill, they open doors for you, but then they become very chauvinistic." Malcom adds, "They do not know how to laugh at themselves. Many are rude, typical, and lack sophistication when it comes to dress. They are also obsessed with their bodies. And they are very short." Yes: short, small, and petite. Is that how you view us?
You Can't get This in Europe
The lack of time in Europe and the breakneck speed of daily life contrasts with our segmented society and the interesting quality of life that Buenos Aires offers foreigners who are looking for a change. For example: In the USA or Europe, it is hard to get or afford maid services. "With luck, you have someone that comes once a week to clean your small apartment. And it costs you close to nothing!"raves the petite Eloise. "Here you see throngs of maids with their uniforms walking in the streets. It's like a movie, an old utopian Europe."
As for the cafe culture, the girls are fascinated with the time that Portenos take to drink and enjoy "that little coffee." "I love the fact that impeccable waiters dressed in black serve me my coffee. They always serve you what you asked for, but they also bring some other things like a small glass or sparkling water or juice and a small sweet biscuit", says Anne. With a guidebook in hand, Malcom comments that in her first two weeks in Buenos Aires, she visited La Biela, the cafe Monet, cafe Tabac, Dandy, Tortoni, and Las Violetas. "I die for the ham and cheese sandwiches. I would return from Europe just to try those again."
In a cafe in Palermo, close to the zoo, I find Sebastian with his black Labrador. He is an attractive Danish - Sebastian, not his dog - who is 38 years and lived 14 of those in London. Before coming to Buenos Aires he worked in business until he realized he needed a change in his life. On vacation, he visited Argentina with his "then girlfriend". Fascinated with the climate, the hospitality, and the virtues of the city, he did not take long in making the decision to stay.
"The people here are very warm. The willingness to help foreigners does not exist in other parts of the world. But they can also be completely opposite: if you have a problem and ask for help, the Portenos can be the worst!"analyzes Sebastian who started a business that sells products outside of Argentina. "I love being able to visit people without a formal invitation. And I like that the Porteno is very laid back and not punctual. Up until the last minute you never know if ten guests, only five, or eight more than you originally thought will be attending a dinner you are hosting."
The food is another hook for Europeans. Sebastian claims that Argentine cuisine is impeccable. "Even the dead cow lying on the side of the road will create a great delicious first course!" he exclaims. At the same time he supports this myth, he disputes another: The beauty of the women. "It is not like that maybe because I am used to it. I come from a place where all the women are beautiful." But later he reveals that the majority of his friends in Buenos Aires are women. Maybe he is fed up with the women? Regardless, this is his city for now and he is happy with his life.
For Juliette, a 27-year-old Parisian who came to work for the house of Chanel, Buenos Aires represents another culture, another world. And she says that the city is unique in its immensity, diversity, and has a crazy way of functioning. "That sensation to be at the end of the earth moves me", asserts Juliette.
Like all capitals, ours is filled with cliches. But being here you find much more profound things than Maradona, Evita, or tango. Buenos Aires is an epicenter where the culture is effervescent and where its alternative creativity competes hand-in-hand with other great capitals." It possesses an electrifying and refined soul, and it is the owner of beautiful architecture, decorations and its thousands of restaurants, just to cite a few reasons.
Juliette fixes her hair and tells me she is happy here, that she has a group of local, very energetic and fun friends with whom she goes out with frequently and that she is always up for trying new things. And recently she bought an apartment in Recoleta as an investment that she feels both calm and comfortable about. Will she return to Paris one day? It goes to show that the magic of Buenos Aires is really strong and all the foreigners are fascinated and fall in love with the city. Filled with myths and secrets, Buenos Aires offers a multitude of great things, that sometimes we portenos, forget to appreciate.
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